Kerwin claims Bato forced De Lima's implication in drugs

Bato: I'll punch that liar in the face

- SHEILA CRISOSTOMO

Alleged drug dealer Kerwin Espinosa has accused Sen. Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa of pressuring him into implicating former senator Leila de Lima in illegal drugs.

Testifying at the hearing of the House of Representatives' quad committee yesterday, Espinosa also said that Dela Rosa forced him to drag businessman Peter Lim into the drug trade.

Dela Rosa denied the claim of Espinosa.

"He is a liar. If I see him, I will punch him in the face," an incensed Dela Rosa told "Storycon" on One News. "Who will you believe: a drug lord or a former chief PNP who is now a senator?"

Espinosa recalled that he was arrested in Abu Dhabi in October 2016 for possession of illegal firearms and explosives.

In November of the same year, he was sent back to the Philippines, where he was picked up at the airport by police, including Dela Rosa who was then head of the Philippine National Police.

“General Bato placed his arm over my shoulder and led me inside a vehicle,” Espinosa said in Filipino.

Once inside the vehicle, Espinosa claimed Dela Rosa sat in the front seat while he was sandwiched between two police officers in the back.